


Crushed

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Gen, all characters are 18+
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-13 19:50:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10520664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: One of the worst feelings in the world: finding out your crush likes someone else.





	

Hunk swallowed the bit of food goo before it stuck even more in his throat. He coughed. “That’s…that’s great, Keith! I’m really happy for you.”

“You _sure_ it’s okay with you?” Keith asked again, his dark blue eyes piercing and earnest. “I won’t ask her if it’ll bug you. I know you guys are close and I don’t want there to be any hurt feelings.”

“I’m sure.” Hunk cleared his bowl from the table and paused for a second to snag Keith’s empty plate. He turned his head so Keith couldn’t see the frown that twisted his mouth for a split second. “What’s that old term…shipping?”

“Eh?”

“Shipping.” Hunk turned and shrugged. “I’ve kinda been shipping the both of you for awhile now.” Keith frowned for a second, then realization of the term dawned on him and he chuckled and ducked his head.

“Pidge literally lights up when you guys are together,” Hunk continued. “I haven’t seen her this happy…well, ever.”

Keith looked up and smiled. “Thanks, Hunk.” Hunk waved him off, and Keith stood. He paused for a second, as if wanting to say something but struggling to find the words. He finally shrugged. “I’ll let you know how it goes. Or Pidge will; whomever you see first, I guess.”

“Yeah.”

Keith left the dining area, waving a jaunty goodbye. Hunk leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. He frowned at the floor for a moment, then his shoulders slumped with a long sigh.

His chest hurt, like he’d been kicked _hard_. And his throat was doing something weird and his eyes felt kinda itchy…

Hunk scrubbed furiously at his eye with the back of his hand. Little kids cried. He was 18, an adult, and he could handle things like an adult.

He’d had a crush on Pidge from the moment he’d realized she was a girl. And that hadn’t been long after meeting her. She was so _smart,_ and funny, and creative, and the amount of ferocity packed into that petite frame always blew his mind.

He’d forced himself to be logical about it, though. He’d figured she _probably_ wasn’t into him, and that suspicion was confirmed when she’d friendzoned him several times—even after she’d revealed to the team she was actually Katie Holt and not Pidge Gunderson. (Whether she’d friendzoned him intentionally or not, he’d never known, because he’d never voiced his feelings to her. But he’d gotten the message and tried to squelch the stupid crush.)

Except it hadn’t really gone away. She and him would work on projects together, joke around together, and despite her atrocious culinary skills, she’d still sit on the kitchen counter and watch him cook.

And he’d been happy with their friendship. He’d told himself if either of them started dating anyone else, he’d be fine with that.

But the moment had arrived, the moment he’d seen coming the second he saw Pidge lay eyes on Keith, and he hadn’t been ready.

Part of him welled up with excitement at the thought that _they might finally be together!!_ But another part was crushed with the weight of reality. He’d never get to be anything “more than friends” with Pidge. And even though he’d known that for almost a year now, the cold hard reality of it suddenly kicking him in the chest with Keith’s excited smile _hurt_.

Not that he would say anything. He _knew_ how much Pidge and Keith meant to each other, had seen it in Pidge’s eyes when she talked about him. More than anything, he wanted them to be happy.

Never mind what he felt.

Hunk scowled. _Selfish,_ he accused himself. He’d known, deep down, that even if Pidge _had_ felt the same way, it was highly unlikely the relationship would have worked out. Sure, they were similar in a lot of ways, but vastly different in others. He’d forced himself to look at it logically, and logically it hadn’t made sense for them to get together.

So, logically, it didn’t make sense for him to be this upset.

Hunk allowed himself a few more deep breaths, not daring to leave the dining area until he knew his emotions were under control. Then he rolled his shoulders and made his way to the kitchen, pushing any and all thoughts of the incident from his mind as best he could. He knew what he wanted to do: he wanted to do everything he could to make sure Keith and Pidge were happy. And everyone else on the ship, too, while he was at it. And while talking to anyone right now might not be the best idea—he didn’t trust himself yet to not give away how much he was hurting—he could still spend a few hours in the kitchen whipping up a fantastic dinner for all of them.

Humming “Hakuna Matata” to himself, Hunk stood in front of the pantry with his hands on his hips, taking stock of the ingredients. It took him three tries to run an inventory of what they had and actually focus on putting a meal together from it.

But eventually he found his groove and was able to shove the emotions even further back, reducing them to a dull, nagging ache that he could ignore. He grabbed some “space flour” (as Pidge had dubbed the blue powder) and set to work.

He knew better than to think he’d get over it by tomorrow, or even next week. But he _would_ , eventually, and that thought put a comforting warmth in his chest.


End file.
